Automobile garment hangers



p 6, 1955 R. s. FUNK 2,717,110

AUTOMOBILE GARMENT HANGERS Filed March so, 1954 m A//. a n My W 2 3 WVE ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 2,717,110 AUTOMOBILE GARMENT HANGERS Roger S. Funk, Warrington, Pa. Application March so, 1954, Serial No. 419,680 Claims. c1. 224-42.4s

This invention relates to automobile garment hangers.

The problem of the disposition of coats and other wraps in passenger vehicles by which such garments can be suitably supported during travel, without interfering with visibility through the rear window, has been of long standing, and, so far as known, prior to this invention was never satisfactorily resolved. The expedicnts for supporting garments on coat hangers have taken many forms, additive to the conventional small hooks mounted above the level of the doors on the sides of the vehicles. These latter are always rather small and when numerous garments are supported thereon form a thick mound of such height and width as to militate against free rear vision, and, additionally, may permit some garments to fall off in transit. One of the more popular types of additive supports have involved means mounted on the upper edges of vertically sliding windows in doors, from which hooks project inwardly. These place strains on the windows and operating mechanisms thereof, and also tend to obscure the rear window vision.

It is among the objects of this invention to improve the art of garment supports for automobiles; to provide a garment support of extreme economy of manufacture and which is small enough to fit and be stored in the glove compartment of the car when not in use; to provide a garment support for automobiles which in use has inappreciable effect on the visibility through the rear window of the automobile; to provide a garment'hanger for anchored disposition between the roof and the deck behind a seat of an automobile, and which is capable of quick and easy manipulation between insertion, anchorage, and removal; to provide a garment hanger in such a position to obtain maximum room to drape long articles of clothing; to provide a hanger which will not interfere with the opening of side windows for rear seat ventilation; and additional objects and advantages will become more apparent as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this description:

Fig. 1 represents a schematic or phantom perspective of part of the rear of an illustrative automobile, with the garment hanger of my invention mounted in its anchored position, and with an illustrative garment suspended therefrom draped over the back seat of the automobile.

Fig. 2 represents a side elevation, partially in section, of the garment support of the invention in anchored relation to the roof and deck behind the rear seat of the automobile, shown in phantom, ready to receive the hook elements of coat hangers.

Fig. 3 represents a fragmentary front elevation of the garment support of the invention.

Fig. 4 represents a fragmentary section, taken on line 44 of Fig. 2, showing the details of construction of the guide-bushing or cylinder organization.

Fig. 5 represents an enlarged fragmentary vertical section through the bushing and traveling nut controlling the anchorage and release of the garment hanger.

In carrying out the invention in an illustrative form,

a stable base element 10 is provided, mounting a hook 11, and also mounting a hollow guide bushing 12 or the like, relative to which latter a shaft 13 is adjustable axially, and the upper end of shaft 13 mounts an upper anchorage element 14.

Basically, the hanger comprises a base, an extensible shaft, a hook on one of these elements, and means for locking the shaft and base together against relative motion toward each other.

In carrying out the invention in an illustrative but presently preferred embodiment, the base 10 is formed of a single strand of relatively heavy wire or rod comprising an upper vertical reach 17, an angularly divergent course 18, a linear bottom course 20, normal to the upper reach 17,an inwardly convergent course 21, merging into a short vertical reach 22 parallel to the upper vertical reach 17, and anchored thereto as by brazing or welding, and the short vertical reach merges into the open hook 11 already mentioned. This forms a rigid triangular base 10 having a substantially flat or linear base 20.

The hollow guide bushing 12 is illustratively formed of a single sheet of sheet metal bent into two parallel annular or semi-annular portions, in a generally hour glass or modified figure 8 section, of which the bushing 12 is a complete substantially closed annulus, from which two reentrantly bent complementally curved ends 23 and 24 project in such spacing as to engage opposite sides of the upper reach 17, to which they are spot welded, as at 2526, to hold the bushing-ring or cylindrical portion 12 in close parallelism with the upper reach 17.

The upper end of the shaft 13 is flattened as at 28, and by pivot pin 30 mounts the flat anchorage element 14 bearing against the flat 28. It will be seen that the flat anchorage element has an outer edge 32 which may be parallel to base course 20, or in any desired angular relation thereto.

In a simple form of device the shaft 13 is externally threaded and mounts the traveling nut 33, the lower surface 34 of which impinges against the upper surface 35 of the bushing 12.

Modern automobiles, at least of the present day, have roofs 37 merging'in a rearward and downward sweep into a rear window 38. The rear window merges below the level of the upper edge 40 of the rear seat 41 into a generally horizontal deck 42. The jointure of the rear window with the roof is usually with a transverse resil- V ient strip 44 or the like rearward of a roof termination edge or batten 45.

With the instant invention the operator disposes the planar base 20 of the triangular unit on the deck 42, behind the seat 41, at any desired location transversely of the car, and elevates the shaft 13 until the pivoted element 14 engages the rubber gasket or strip 44, on which the element edge 32 is self-aligning by reason of the pivot. The elevation of the shaft is continued until enough pressure has been developed to anchor the garment hanger in the general position indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. In the illustrative form disclosed, this is accomplished by simply turning the nut 33 on the threaded shaft 13 bearing against the surface 35 of the bushing 12. It will be understood in this connection that care must be exercised to avoid excess pressure between the deck 42 and the rubber gasket 44, to avoid injury to the vehicle, and to this end the nut 33 may have good frictional engagement with the fingers of the operator as by external knurling, or with reduced frictional elfects may be a hexagonal, or may even be a cylindrical nut. Any other desired frictional or like device may be used in lieu of the threaded shaft and nut disclosed.

When so anchored, with relatively light pressure the hook element 11 projects forwardly over the upper edge 40 of the rear seat 41, in position to receive the hook portions of coat hangers disposed in and supporting garments, which latter drape over the rear seat and against the back thereof, as indicated in Fig. 1. It Will be seen that the visibility out of the rear window is substantially unimpaired, and as the force of the weight applied on the hook 11 is forwardly and downwardly, the turning moment is absorbed by the permanent stop" of the edge or batten 45 of the roof, engaging the gasket or like packing 44.

It will be apparent that Within the broad aspects of the invention all that is necessary is the stable base, the stable upper end and means for disposing these elements in various spaced relations to each other. To this end then, the threaded shaft and nut, as noted, can be replaced by any other form of extension and locking-members, and the mode of formation of the stable elements can likewise be changed without departing from the spirit of my invention. The only important thing is to be able to relatively move the lower base element and the upper engaging element temporarily apart and to lock them in separated position.

It will be clear also that the rigid hook 11 is purely illustrative, and for ease of storage the hook may be stamped of steet metal and have pivotal connection to either vertical course 17 or 22.

When collapsed, the nut can be rotated to the upper end of shaft 13 and the whole assembly stored in the glove compartment of the car. It will be understood that although useable with any type of vehicle, the invention is adapted especially for use in two and four door sedans or in coupes, as presently constructed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A garment hanger for automobiles for disposition in the rear of an automobile betwen the deck behind the rear seat and the frame mounting the rear window thereof, comprising a base element of triangular profile in one plane and having a horizontal base course for stable engagement on the deck behind a seat, an upper oscillatable element generally parallel to the said one plane for engagement with part of the roof adjacent to the upper edge of such rear window of such automobile, means for temporarily locking the respective base and upper element in such engagements, and a hook element mounted on the base element of the hanger to project forwardly over and relative to such seat.

2. A garment hanger as recited in claim 1, in which the base element mounts a hollow sleeve bushing, the upper element is mounted on a threaded shaft slidable in said bushing, and a nut is threaded on said shaft for bearing impingement against the surface of said bushing.

3. A garment hanger as recited in claim 1, in which the base element includes a vertical rod, an hour glassshaped section of sheetmetal is provided forming a clip having arms embracing the rod, said arms being welded to the rod, and said clip formed into a generally 'cylindrical guide bushing, the said upper element comprising a threaded shaft passing through said guide bushing, a nut threaded on said shaft and bearing against an edge of said guide bushing.

4. A garment hanger as recited in claim 1, in which the base and the upper element comprise automobile surface-engaging elements, one of said engaging elements being pivoted in one plane only to conform to lack of parallelism between said deck and the engaged portion of said roof to effect rigidity of mounting of said hanger.

5. A garment hanger comprising a single strand of bent rod having one end in a vertical course bent into a generally triangular base and returning to a vertical course parallel to and anchored to the first mentioned course and merging into an open hook, a strip of sheet metal bent upon itself to form a general cylinder having arms embracing and welded to said first mentioned vertical course, and forming a bearing edge, a threaded shaft slidable in said general cylinder, an engaging end member pivoted to the shaft, and a threaded nut threaded on the shaft and having a bearing on said edge of said general cylinder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,494,318 Sturk Jan. 10, 1950 2,536,293 Koses Jan. 2, 1951 2,549,712. Schwartz Apr. 17, 1951 

